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IBC-13 and TV5 flip-flops on PBA telecast
Wed, Jul 24, 2013 3:16 PM SGT PBA Commissioner Chito Salud. (PBA Images) With less than one month to go before the opening of the PBA Governors Cup on August 14, TV5 ultimately gave in to one of two options presented by the PBA board of governors headed by chairman Robert Non to the Manny Pangilinan owned network on a take-it-or-leave- it basis. The options were straightforward. Telecast the PBA games “live” on TV5, which resulted in a substantial upswing in ratings during the Commissioner’s Cup Finals, while air the games on IBC-13 whose blocktime agreement was terminated last May 31 because, according to Pangilinan. After several back-and-forth proposals which necessitated the calling of three special board meetings, TV5 president Noel Lorenzana, Talk N’ Text alternate governor Patrick “Pato” Gregorio and Finance Head Rita Bengzon met with PBA Commissioner Chito Salud on Monday afternoon and informed him that they would return to IBC 13 starting with the telecast of the Governors Cup games. They were buying time because if they failed to make the call it would have meant the pro league would call-in its P75 million bond and charge TV5 P2 million a game day until they are able to find a coveror who would meet the standards set in the deal with TV5 although there were indications this issue could end up in litigation which would have created the spectacle of Pangilinan who owns TV5 suing the PBA board of which he is a key member owning two teams - Talk N' Text and Meralco. While the PBA Commissioner and chairman Non declined to comment beyond the statement issued by the pro league, it was obvious they had hoped the games would be aired on IBC-13 which is why the board reluctantly agreed to push back the start time of the first game to 4:30 p.m. after earlier agreeing to start the second game at 7:15: p.m. effectively bending backwards to accommodate the coveror. The first inkling of a problem surfaced when the head of TV5 Sports, Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes who was subsequently directed by Pangilinan to concentrate on his coaching job and to give up the TV5 assignment at least for the time being, made a pitch before the PBA board in which he proposed that all games be telecast “live” on AksyonTV which is a UHF channel similar to ABS-CBN’s Studio 23 and that the second game be aired on IBC-13 beginning at 7:15 p.m. which the PBA board made clear was “too late” and would greatly inconvenience commuter fans. After the return of its blocktime contract with IBC, they were forced to telecast the finals on TV5 and on IBC in order to honor the contract with the PBA. RELATED: PBA Board gives TV5 one last chance It proved to be a good move as television ratings took a substantial upswing and record-breaking attendance figures marked the best-of-five finals between crowd favorites Ginebra San Miguel and Alaska. There were segments in the finals which Alaska swept in three games where the ratings even out-performed the two leading networks, ABS-CBN and GMA 7. One day after the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semi finals broke a long-standing attendance record with a paying crowd of over 26,000 fans, the PBA board approved TV5’s initiative to telecast the finals on the network following a closed-door meeting with Talk N’ Text governor and former PBA chairman Ricky Vargas. The PBA said it found the “stronger, clearer and more widespread signal and reach of Channel 5 and Channel 13 to be more appropriate and consistent with the league’s thrust to reach out to the league’s fans nationwide, on a broader basis.” Commissioner Salud himself said “I look at this decision as an unequivocal step toward bringing the PBA to the next level and making it more accessible to our loyal fans.” While the league’s disappointment at its failure to convince TV5 and IBC-13 to continue to air the games on the network was muted, the undeniable fact is that the ratings and attendance figures reinforce the perception that airing the games on TV5 would have maintained the momentum and success of the Commissioner’s Cup finals but the flip-flopping undermined the growth. The figures said it all. In Game 3 of the finals a record-shattering crowd of 23,436 paying fans watched at the Smart Araneta Coliseum while thousands were turned away in order to abide by safety regulations. The previous record was 23,108 during the semi finals double header between crowd darlings Ginebra San Miguel and Talk n’ Text and the No.2 squad in terms of popularity, San Mig Coffee and eventual champions Alaska. TV ratings on IBC-13, which has been commended for its excellent coverage, at some points rated higher than ABS-CBN and GMA 7. PBA Media Bureau chief Willie Marcial reported that for Game 2 Nielsen’s Nationwide TV Audience Measurement (NUTAM) registered a rating of 6.4 percent with an audience share of 22.4 percent which he said was “the best in recent history.” From 9:30 to 9:45 p.m. the game rated an average of 9.2 percent as against the 8.6 of ABS-CBN Channel 2 and the 6.6 percent of GMA 7 which translated into 4 million viewers for TV5, 3.7 million for ABS-CBN and 2.9 million for GMA. While Game 3 set a new record in attendance it also showed viewership peaking with a high of 4 million tuning in during the fourth quarter which represented a 31.2 percent audience share. ALSO READ: Linsanity (the documentary) is coming The momentum of the second conference finals has been decidedly broken by the last minute decision of TV5 and its constant flip-flopping. For example, TV5 executive Peter Chanliong had argued for a 4:30 p.m. start claiming, correctly to a point, that the 4:30 beginning was too early and most fans arrived at the stadium during half-time. Under the proposal the main game would start at 7:15 p.m. That too was rejected with former chairman Rene Pardo telling Yahoo Philippines it was “not acceptable to a majority of the board members” even as he noted that when the main game begins at 7:15 p.m. “many fans are seen standing up to leave the coliseum to catch the last MRT trip” which meant that delaying the games even further would affect the attendance and make it difficult for fans who use public transportation to get to and from the venues. In a classic example of doublespeak, Chanliong proposed to Commissioner Salud that the first game start at 4:30 p.m. which totally contradicted his position less than one week earlier while his rationale was laughable – that was then, this is now! To air both games on IBC-13 it was proposed that a 4:30 p.m. start and a 45 minute newscast from 6:30 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. would enable them to air the main game at 7:30 p.m. He also proposed airing the live games on IBC 13 with the board flatly rejecting the split-channel proposal pointing out that it would confuse fans who follow the games on television. The PBA told the franchise holder to go back to the drawing board and submit a revised proposal. To its surprise, the proposal was basically the same, which prompted the board to give TV5 one last chance to comply with one of the two options proposed with finality. In the end after a meeting with Pangilinan on Monday at 1:00 p.m. Lorenzana met with Salud and informed the PBA they would return to IBC 13 starting with the third conference. In a press release the PBA said "In opting not to change the fans’ viewing habits and the schedule of games that have resulted in record gate receipts and TV ratings this season, both the PBA, IBC-13 and TV5 have placed public interest above all other considerations." Regrettably, the move back to IBC 13 following a record-breaking coverage over TV5 doesn’t live up to the demands of public interest or the interest of the fans as claimed in the press release. Commissioner Salud said, “We value our relationship and recognize TV5’s role as a positive factor for the league.The PBA and IBC-13 are one in upholding the interest of our basketball fans.” Yahoo! Philippines also learned that TV5 will review the current terms of its coverage contract with the PBA and submit its proposal to the PBA Board of Governors for the supposed purpose of "determining how best to further improve the relations between the two parties." That planned proposal would entail telecasting the games on the UHF AksyonTV Channel with the main game also telecast on TV5 in an obvious effort to cut down on its losses despite the team owners having made it clear they wanted the games aired on IBC-13 which was a position reiterated by the board which turned down both the UHF airing and the split channel proposal. Lorenzana welcomed the agreement on the Governors Cup telecast which starts on August 14 and ends on October 25 at the latest following the FIBA-Asia Championships which open on August 1. The TV president said “I’m very happy that the Governors’ Cup will be enjoyed by the fans, especially coming from a basketball high with the FIBA-Asia tournament. We’re happy to bring the games to everyone’s homes and we look forward to continuing our partnership with the PBA.” The PBA has acknowledged that IBC-13 has the strong signal and a wider reach so the statement about bringing the games to everyone’s homes is self-serving and certainly. Such a claim could be truthfully made by ABS-CBN and GMA 7.